Lendl Gets Own Firm to Manage His Money

Ivan Lendl, who has been the world’s No. 1 tennis player for more than two years, ended weeks of speculation Monday by announcing, as predicted, that he will form his own management firm.

The move means the end of Lendl’s longtime association with ProServ, a Washington management firm that has represented him for eight years. Lendl’s new firm, Spectrum Sports, Inc., of Greenwich, Conn., will provide promotional and financial service for him, and, eventually, other athletes.

Although 1987 was one of Lendl’s best on the court as he won his third straight U.S. Open title and second consecutive French Open championship, he grew dissatisfied with ProServ. When Lendl’s former agent, Jerry Solomon, was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer for ProServ this year, it left him with less time to spend with Lendl.

“I’ve thought about (forming a firm) the last couple of years,” Lendl said on a conference call from Nelson Bay, Australia, 2 1/2 hours north of Sydney.

“I’ve always been heavily involved in my own affairs. I’ve looked at things and thought of what I’d do differently, how to get improvement. Once Jerry started moving ahead, things were not going as well. I was looking at how to improve it.”

Solomon had acknowledged in an earlier interview with The Times that he wasn’t able to spend as much time with Lendl as he had in the past, although he said he spent the same amount of time handling his client’s business affairs.

Lendl said he hoped the break-up wouldn’t cause animosity but feared that it would.

“I don’t think they’re very pleased with the fact I’m leaving and starting my own company,” he said. “It’s no secret they can’t be pleased. There are no hard feelings because (Solomon) was moving up in the company.

“It wasn’t really one thing. It was the whole relationship. Jerry moved on, and I can understand it. I hope he does very well there.”